In the ancient times and even today, the fact that explanations with personification is better fit with the brain topology of human beings, plays a great role in how historical events unfold. Since explanations with personification fit well with human brain, most people will find it easy for them to believe this kind of explanations. It is easier to believe in something comprehensible and the concept of belief itself is meaningless without comprehension of a belief object.

However, the personification of inanimate objects is not solely done by the ancients. There are empirical observation results, indicating that most humans show greater interest to learn an abstract concept if the concept is presented using some kind of personification. Sometimes this interest leverage effect is amplified, if the personification of the inanimate object or abstract concept is presented as a character with different sex, in which the sexual tendency of human being as sexual creature is used to amplify the effect.

Educational cartoonists like Larry Gonick often use personification of inanimate objects in their educative cartoons, to aid students in their attempts to understand advanced concepts. We all know that things like electrons, enzymes or RNA-Ts have no eyes whatsoever in the real world, but it is also a real fact that assigning some personifications to them do aid the students who happen to read the educational comic, to understand the abstract concept that have to be taught.

Other modern use of anthropomorphisms can also be found among the fans of Japanese animation, which is popularly called anime. Some people in Futaba channel assign anime characters personifications into several computer operating systems to describe the characteristic of each operating system. This personification of computer operating systems is popularly called OS-tans (tans here is a Japanese honorific term, which lend some aura of cuteness). Many computer operating systems ranging from DOS, Windows, Mac OSX and Linux, have their own anime character representing them. Some utilities such as MacAfee Antivirus and Symantec Antivirus also have their own anime representation. Other popular applications like web browsers such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Opera, is also represented as anime characters in OS-tans universe.

Another example of modern personification of abstract concepts can also be found in the statue of Liberty. The statue was presented to the United States by the people of France in 1886 as a gesture of friendship and now stands at Liberty Island, New York. The Statue of Liberty is one of the most recognizable icons of the United States, and more generally, represents liberty and escape from oppression. In other words, the abstract concept called liberty is personified as Lady Liberty.

The abundant examples of modern personification of inanimate objects and abstract concepts, speaks as a proof that even when modern humans had advanced so far from their ancestors in terms of technology, there are still remnants of evolution in the wiring of the human brain. The fact that the human brain is wired to understand things as something with personality, as they are evolved to become social creatures, didn’t change. This fact always has to be taken into consideration when preparing material for teaching students some abstract concepts.